Tuesday, July 26, 2011

I have too many things on my plate! Part of the huge pileup I owe to internet difficulties I had when visiting the east coast in mid July. Given all that needs to get done at the start of the semester, I regret that we agreed to a two-day vacation on Lake Chelan, which in reality will chew up 4 days when adding the overhead for driving. In short, I find vacations stressful.

Though I may be accused of whining, my intent is to describe the daunting tasks that are keeping me me busy since we got back from Philly. This post may make me appear illiterate, but please excuse all the typos. Don't have time to edit.

First, there is a backlog of papers that I am writing and editing.

1. My collaborator and I completed a piece of work almost a year ago on the gamma landscape that I still need to write up. This work shows that the problem of gamma is much richer than beta, and that the universal properties of potentials that are near a local maximum separate into several distinct classes. I have been working on this paper on an off for a while and plan to finish it soon. Working on it.

2. Xavi sent me his SPIE paper where he did some sum-rule gymnastics to show that a two-level model is unphysical. I checked the paper, so now it is out of my hair. Done!

3. and 4. Shoresh is giving a talk at SPIE on quantum graphs and a talk on how the energy spectrum affects the nonlinear optical response. I finished editing these two papers today and Shoresh has submitted them. Because I have a type A personality and hate even the smallest imperfection, I spend lots of time even on conference proceedings. Done!

5. and 6. Nathan has been patiently waiting for me to edit two huge papers on cascading - a process by which lower-order nonlinearities work together to attain an enhanced higher-order one, where we show that nature does not provide any loopholes for getting a bigger nonlinear response than calculated using the limits. That is my next priority. Given the complexity of this work, it will take some effort to plow through all the details.

7. I have been invited to write special review article for JOSA B with George Stegeman. Bob Boyd is also a potentially a coauthor. This paper has an upcoming deadline of a few months because the special issue is to coincide with one of the Optical Society's important anniversaries (I don't recall which one). Haven't started yet and am stressed out over the amount of work this will involve.

8. I have been invited to write a massive review article on sum rules and scaling for the high impact journal called Physics Reports. These are huge amounts of work, but I will have some help from my two coauthors. Need to start working on it soon.

9. Ironically, I was part of another group to write a Physics Reports review on organic nonlinear optical materials. This paper has been delayed by my coauthors, but if I need to write it parallel with the other one, I will have no time to sleep.

10. I am working on a paper with a collaborator on the nonlinear properties of air. This paper will be written in the near future since most of the data is in place. Will be working on this soon.

11. Shoresh is waiting for me to read his paper on Monte Carlo calculations on quantum loops. I know we will need to generalize the paper to include the band structure of the quantum wire. Lots more work!

12. An undergraduate REU student sent me his results on bent quantum wires. I eventually need to turn this into a paper. Luckily, he is traveling overseas for a year with minimal email contact, so this gives me an excuse to procrastinate. Back burner...

13, 14 and 15. Three papers are out for review: one on the diffusion mechanism in polymers, one one on transverse sum rules, and one a critique of a paper on nonlinear Miller's delta. Once these papers are reviewed, there will undoubtedly be revisions. Soon, another deadline!

16 and 17. Two papers have been accepted: one on the theoretical models of the heating mechanism of the photochemical effect and one on the... damn, I just forgot what is was while writing. Anyway, there will be page proofs to correct.

18. As I reported a while back, we finally finished the huge paper on AF455. The reviewer wanted to revisions. Xavi made the first set of revisions and I just finished making my changes. Took most of the day. I even managed to add another little piece of analysis that makes the results even stronger. I sent it all back to Xavi and he will make a couple of minor changes before submitting it. Hopefully in the next couple of days. (He too is busy.)

19. 20... I am sure I have missed something.

Now that I see this list, I am already getting more stressed out. There is more work than I thought.

I had good news that my NSF proposal would probably be funded, provided that I answer some questions about the project. That brings me to proposals. I have actually been writing fewer proposals than usual because I am finding that I cannot keep up with everything as it is. If I get more funding, I will need to do more stuff. Here is what I am up to.

1. I responded to NSF about my proposal. It actually took me a couple of days to do so because I need to be careful not to say something stupid. I submitted my answers and a day later was notified that I forgot to explain my educational plan. I rewrite the damn abstract to stay within the work limit and resubmit it. They tell me it's all in order, so I cross my fingers and wait for the final decision.

2. I need to write a report to NSF for my present funding. It takes forever filling out the forms. My program manager likes to see lots of technical details so I try to upload a huge pdf file. The system balks and I have to contact technical support. I am procrastinating.

3. The Air Force needs a report for our grant. Ben writes a first draft, then I spend a day rewriting it. We go back and forth a few times to iron out problems. The report is done over the weekend - just in time.

4. Luckily, my AFOSR report was due before the trip to Philly. Already done!

5. I need to court the Air Force to renew my funding. Because of the problems with the federal budget, a grant that should have been of 5 year duration is cut after one year. I need to generate creative ideas that will convince the air force people that our work is critical to them.

6. Our lasers are getting old. Need to write an equipment proposal that is due in September. Need to start work on that soon. There are lots of complex forms that need to be filled out. Luckily, office staff can help.

7. We are doing exploratory work on a secret project. I'll divulge details later after we write a proposal on the topic.

As a faculty member, and unfortunately associate chair, I have all sorts of other work.

1. I am on a search committee to hire a new office staff person. Emails go back and forth constantly as we go over folders and determine who to interview. Then there are interviews and eventually an offer and negotiation for salary, etc.

2. A recent announcement informs us that the college of sciences may be merging with liberal arts. Everyone thinks its a bad idea except for the administration. Looks like they want to do it. I need to go to meetings.

3. Since the chair is away, lots of things to sign. travel vouchers, etc.

Not enough time, so I am going into stream of conciseness mode to finish this post. Don't know why I am wasting the time...

Am working on a couple of promotions of our faculty. Will be getting a bunch of reports from external reviewers. Will need to go over everything, call a faculty meeting to decide on each case, and then represent each case at the COS T&P committee meeting.

Having been a professor for over 2 decades, I get solicited to write letters of recommendation form students who have graduated as long as 20 years ago. This includes my graduate students, grad students on whose committees I have served, undergrads, as well as students who have taken my classes.

There are always professional service activities. I always get lots of requests to review papers. Since I publish a fair amount, I should be reviewing 2 to 3 times as many papers as I submit. I am on the reviewing list of a few dozen journals. A week does not go by without being asked to review, and many weeks I get several "invitations." Just to decide which ones I will review, which ones I will pass along to others, or which I will just decline takes some time (I need to look over the manuscript to decide). At the moment, I have a couple of reviews hanging over my head. Sure, I can sometimes pass along reviews to my grad students, which I do to teach them about the process, but it take me longer to show them how its done or to edit their reviews than it takes for me to do myself.

And then there are tenure and promotion letters that I need to write for faculty at other universities. I need to carefully read the thick packages for each case to do a competent job. These days one can get sued if the individual does not like the result. Sitting on such a review now.

Then there are conferences to organize as a member of the organizing committee or program committee, which decides which papers to select and who to invite to give a talk. Luckily, only on a couple low-key committees now.

Then there is teaching. Need to prepare my syllabus for my class this fall. Also, in the week before classes start, I am running a discussion group on a common reading book at the honors college and am involved in orientation for the newgraduate students.

In grant administration, there are always budgets to manage, who gets appointed on an RA, how do we spend money on time, how we re-budget colors of money to buy what we need. Just yesterday, we exchanged an item leading to a credit on the equipment part of a grant. Have to figure out a way to spend it before the grant runs out in a few weeks. Don't want to waste precious funds. Also, get budget statements every month. Need to make sure we are not overspending or underspending.

Then there are emails with collaborators that seem to come at me form all directions. We are starting a new collaboration with Nathan's new group. Communicated with the PI yesterday with a couple of back and forth emails. Then there are colleagues who are giving talks who need slides or colleagues writing proposals who need support letters. These trickle in all the time.

A big pain is updating my CV. Seems to take as much time to document what I do as doing what I do. Not really, but seems that way.

And then, of course, there is managing my research group. I need to meet with each student typically every day or at least every other day. There are always puzzling data, equipment that is breaking down, or new experiments that need to be designed and built. Everyone's problem weighs on me like it's my own. Well, it really is my own. We work together to get ideas and troubleshoot. Takes at least a couple hours a day and often most of the day.

Then there are thesis committees, both my own and other students in the department. To edit a student's dissertation takes me about a month of full time effort. Reading and understanding a dissertation from another group can take a day to a few days. In addition, during the writing process, there are many scientific problems that usually get ironed out. Will have at least a few of these during this academic year.

When the semester starts, I will need to prepare for each lecture, which takes me one to two hours per lecture hour if I already have prepared notes. When preparing a new course, it takes almost all my time. Last academic year I had a new grad class each semester. Then there is one full day a week grading, usually Saturday, and some time to prepare each exam. And there are office hours to answer student's questions. Teaching (aside from grading) is one of the more fun parts of the job.

Then there is all the paperwork. Need to sign off when students change their program of study (i.e. which courses will count toward the degree), figuring out how to juggle courses to make sure the students meet requirements in years where a required course is not offered. The office staff is great at figuring these things out. To many little things to list hear.

When there are budget cuts, we need to make painful decisions on how to make cuts without impacting our mission. Last academic year, we spent quite a bit of time determining which things could be cut and by how much. Some of these cuts are being implemented this semester. More cuts are in store for the next academic year. Thus, more work and more meetings.

What little time is left I devote to thinking about physics and doing some work with pencil and paper. I need to be generating new ideas that will become the focus for future research. I find thinking to be a pleasurable activity. Luckily, I generate more ideas than I could possibly pursue.

In the midst of all of this work, I get annoyed with the clumsy system used by our university to enter out activities for the year. My main complaint is that it was designed with the mediocre individual in mind, and therefore takes much longer to complete if you are really doing lots of things. It takes me almost 2 days each year to fill out the damn template.

In the spring, I will be doing annual reviews of the faculty once again - a two-week full-time process. Since the chair will be away most of the time, I will undoubtedly be going to many more meetings.

Then there is the stress of travel. First, preparing a talk and then making all of the travel plans, then when returning, putting together all the receipts for reimbursement. In addition to the time away, it probably takes a few days to prepare. Typically, I travel a few weeks each year (maybe an overseas trip this September - I hate traveling during classes). Many of my colleagues are on the road much more. Don't know how they do it.

I am editor of two journals, which requires assigning editors and making decisions on manuscripts. The work comes in spurts, like dealing with a plagiarism case last academic year. Luckily, not to much activity this month asside from needing to bug authors to submit their manuscripts. You know who you are!

To fight the stress, I try to play hockey twice a week. For these few hours, I forget about all of the work that is piling up. Also, at about 10:00pm each night, I spend 30 to 45 minutes studying Italian. Turns out I end up only having time for this 3 nights a week. But, I am compulsive and continue to work on it to meet my goal of someday being fluent. Doesn't feel like it will ever happen, but I continue to try.

Other than these breaks, I am usually working 7 days a week. True, I need to take a break (usually on Sundays) to pay the bills; and of course, there are the occasional social outings. But, that is why entropy seems to continually take control of our home.

...ping... Just got an email to review another paper and a request to write a letter on behalf of a colleague for a sabbatical. ...ping.. problem with a grant budget ...ping... an email about the merger of COS and CLA. ... Gotta run to get some real work done. (Glad I have two big screens with about 20 windows open at all times so that I can multitask.)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

It was my son's fault. He has been working on a project where the Wigner function is routinely invoked. He and now I am trying to understand its meaning. It was with some excitement that I located a thirty-year-old paper on the physical interpretation of the Wigner function. The combination of eating chocolates and having wine with dinner in the midst of my restricted carbohydrate diet reved up my metabolism. The paper, on the other hand, reved up my already racing mind. I was kept wide awake for most of the night in a frenzied state even after taking a dose of zolpidem and lorazepam tartrate.

Dirac notation is one of the most beautiful ways to formulate quantum mechanics because of its generality. A wavefunction, for example, represents all that we can know know about a system in terms of coordinates, such as the position or momentum. A state vector, on the other hand, is a general quantity whose projection onto the position axis gives the wavefunction as a function of position or a projection along the momentum axis gives a function of momentum. Since the Wigner function depends on momentum and position, I played mathematical tricks in my mind to represent it in the more general operator form.

One thing let to another, and I was trying to find ways to make transformations into a variety of forms that would give me insights. I played tricks by inserting closure, or used the inverse process of turning a variable into an operator so that I could collapse a sum with closure. I could not stop myself from making sense of the equations that tumbled around in my head. Eventually, sleep took its hold, but its grasp week. I woke tired, but looking forward to transcribing my ideas onto paper.

We are now packing and getting ready to fly back to Pullman. Though I am weary, an air of optimism fills my spirit that perhaps I will understand something new today. For now, my worries are tucked away in a hidden place.

Monday, July 18, 2011

We have been visiting with family in the Philadelphia area. What should have been a fun time has been colored with tension and anxiety. First, there is the issue of what to do with my 95-year-old father.

He is highly independent, living on his own, cooking for himself, and competently driving a car. He and his buddies (all younger than him) occasionally drive to Cape May - a Victorian beach town. Also, he volunteers twice a week to work at the senior lunch, collecting the $1.50 cost of the meal, and making sure that the books are balanced. He even helps deliver food to the eighty-year olds with walkers.

Ten years ago, we built an addition to our home for my father. He refused to move in. I don't blame him. He has friends and activities to keep him busy. He participates in all sorts of events at the Ukrainian church and the Ukrainian Center. Pullman, on the other hand, has zero Ukrainians for him to befriend. Though we are there for him, work is a large part of our days, so he would be bored to death most of the time. In Philly, he is an active part of his microcommunity participating in his ethnic culture that he cherishes.

My father is concerned that his driver's license will not be renewed, rendering his present lifestyle impossible. We are also concerned that as he ages, he will become less independent. Our agonizing decision comes down to a choice between him continuing to live alone with the chance that he may injure himself, but otherwise a happy life; or, moving him to Pullman, and dooming him to certain misery. In my mind, both choices are far from ideal.

The other day, my father fell as a result of a dizzy spell. He was bruised but otherwise seemed unharmed. However, it was painful for him to walk, and his nurse (who visits him occasionally at home for blood tests), recommended that he get an X-ray to rule out a fractured hip. Fortunately, we had made plans to have lunch with good friends from Yardley. After lunch, John - an orthopedic surgeon, and his wife Camille - a physical therapist, checked my father's injuries and ordered X-rays as a precaution. The local hospital quickly determined that he had not sustained serious injury.

This whole process reminded us of my father's situation and the painful decisions ahead. Unfortunately, every option other than the status quo is unacceptable to him: No to senior living homes, no to roommates, no to moving to Pullman, etc. For now, we are making arrangements to simplify his daily routine, but some day, we will need to bring him to Pullman, kicking and screaming.

We have been driving extensively to get between my fathers place, and the various in-laws. As a result, I have been feeling depressed and anxious about not having time to work, not to mention my motion sickness. Yesterday afternoon, after arriving at my sister-in-law's vacation home in Delaware, I finally sat down at my computer to work, only to come down with a debilitating migraine headache that put me out of commission for the rest of the evening.

This morning, I awoke feeling physically well, but mentally exhausted with thoughts of the piles of work that has accumulated. As I was working, I got two pieces of good news:

First, I was notified that my NSF proposal on sum rules has been recommended for funding. However, there are several questions that I first need to address before approval. This will be my first priority, so my other work will need to wait.

While reading through the email from NSF, I got notification that a third paper on Nathan's work on photo mechanical liquid crystal elastomers was accepted. An excerpt of comments from each reviewer follows.

REVIEWER 1

The manuscript provides an in-depth model and related discussion on the deformation mechanism of azo containing liquid crystal elastomer upon a light trigger. The authors incorporated in the model heat effects as related to absorption and diffusion during and after exposure in the absorption band of the azo compound. To my opinion this was the first time that it was described so extensively rather than mentioning that heat effects might also play role next to the photo-isomerization reaction. For this reason it is my opinion that the paper should be published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America...

REVIEWER 2

In the manuscript “Modeling the mechanisms of the photomechanical response of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer”, authors have done the modeling to explain the plausible mechanisms involved in photomechanical response of nematic liquid crystal elastomer. In the previous report: N. J. Dawson et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28, 1916 (2011), authors have reported the experimental determination of mechanisms of photomechanical effects in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer in a particular device geometry. More interestingly, in the present report the models have been initially proposed and then used to compare with experimental results and to evaluate related material parameters. Undoubtedly, the theoretical modeling, comparison with experimental results and related explanations are up to the mark. Moreover, the report does not only demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms but also provide the platform for design of optical devices based on photomechanical effect and hence seems to be greatly useful for liquid crystal community as well as other related fields.

On the basis of the originality and novelty of the work presented in this report, I feel that it would be really of worth to keep this article in JOSA B. Therefore, I recommend it for the publication in JOSA B.

While life throws all sorts of crap our way, I take great comfort in the fact that I will be able to continue my work in sum rules, and how they elucidate the nature of light matter interactions. Future work in this area, while remaining on the esoteric side, is converging on ideas that will impact practical applications. These thoughts temporarily allow me to escape form my wories.

We have been on the east coast visiting with family in the Philadelphia area. What should have been a fun time has for me been colored with sadness and anxiety. First, there is the issue of what to do with my 95-year-old father.

He is highly independent, living on his own, cooking for himself, and competently driving a car. In fact, in the summer, he and his buddies (all younger than him) routinely drive to Cape May - a Victorian beach town - for a day of walking on the beach and eating out.

He is so energetic that he volunteers twice a week to work at the senior lunch, collecting the $1.50 cost of the meal, and making sure that the books are balanced. He even helps deliver food to the eighty-year-olds who need walkers.

Ten years ago, we decided to build an addition to our home so that my father could move in with us. He refused. I don't blame him. He has friends and activities to keep him busy. He routinely takes part in activities at the Ukrainian Church and the Ukrainian Center in the Fox Chase area of north of Philly. Pullman, on the other hand, has for all practical purposes zero Ukrainians for him to befriend. Though we are here for him, work is a large part of our days, so he would be bored to death without our company. In Philly, he is an active part of his micro-community.

My father is concerned that his driver's license will not be renewed, making his present lifestyle impossible. We are also concerned that as he gets older, he will be less able to take care of himself. Our agonizing decision comes down to a choice between him continuing to live alone with the chance that he may injure himself, but otherwise have a happy life; or, moving him to Pullman, and dooming him to certain misery. In my mind, both choices are far from ideal.

Our concerns were renewed a few days ago when my father fell (when alone in his apartment) as a result of a dizzy spell. He was bruised but otherwise seemed unharmed. However, it was painful for him to walk, and his nurse (who visits him occasionally at home for blood tests), recommended that he get an X-ray to make sure that he did not fracture his hip. Fortunately, we had made plans to have lunch with good friends of ours from Yardley. After lunch, John - an orthopedic surgeon, and Camille - a physical therapist, checked my fathers injuries and felt that they were not serious, but ordered X-rays just in case. We went to a local hospital in an expedited process - care of our friends. He was indeed not badly injured

This whole process reminded us of my father's precarious situation and the decisions that would have to be made. Unfortunately, every option, other than the status quo, is unacceptable to my father. No senior living homes, no roommates, no moving to Pullman, etc. So for now, we are trying to find ways to make his life simpler in his present living arrangements.

In the meantime, we have been driving extensively to get between my fathers place, and the various in-laws. As a result, I have been feeling depressed and anxious about not having time to work, not to mention my motion sickness. Yesterday afternoon, after arriving at my sister-in-law's vacation home in Delaware, I finally sat down at my computer to work, only to come down with a migraine headache moments later. My symptoms put me out of commission for the rest of the evening.

This morning, I awoke feeling physically well, but mentally exhausted with thoughts of the piles of work that has accumulated. As I was working, I got two pieces of good news within a few minutes of each other.

First, I was notified that my NSF proposal on sum rules has been recommended for funding. However, there are several questions that I first need to address before approval. This will be my first priority, so my other work will need to wait. Hope my graduate students understand my inaccessibility during this period of time.

Secondly, while reading through the email from NSF, my email dinged with a message that a third paper was accepted in our series of papers on Nathan's work on photo mechanical liquid crystal elastomers. An excerpt of comments from each reviewer follows.

REVIEWER 1

The manuscript provides an in-depth model and related discussion on the deformation mechanism of azo containing liquid crystal elastomer upon a light trigger. The authors incorporated in the model heat effects as related to absorption and diffusion during and after exposure in the absorption band of the azo compound. To my opinion this was the first time that it was described so extensively rather than mentioning that heat effects might also play role next to the photo-isomerization reaction. For this reason it is my opinion that the paper should be published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America...

REVIEWER 2
In the manuscript “Modeling the mechanisms of the photomechanical response of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer”, authors have done the modeling to explain the plausible mechanisms involved in photomechanical response of nematic liquid crystal elastomer. In the previous report: N. J. Dawson et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28, 1916 (2011), authors have reported the experimental determination of mechanisms of photomechanical effects in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer in a particular device geometry. More interestingly, in the present report the models have been initially proposed and then used to compare with experimental results and to evaluate related material parameters. Undoubtedly, the theoretical modeling, comparison with experimental results and related explanations are up to the mark. Moreover, the report does not only demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms but also provide the platform for design of optical devices based on photomechanical effect and hence seems to be greatly useful for liquid crystal community as well as other related fields. On the basis of the originality and novelty of the work presented in this report, I feel that it would be really of worth to keep this article in JOSA B. Therefore, I recommend it for the publication in JOSA B.

Friday, July 8, 2011

A couple of years ago, some friends and I had a discussion on the merits of accepting something as true based on subjective experience. As an example of what I mean by subjective experience, imagine saying a prayer and then observing a rainbow. There are those who have had such an experience and concluded that this was a sign from God. When such an experience leads to the conviction that the Christian God exists, I would call this a "truth" that is believed on the basis of a subjective experience. I am pretty certain that the rainbow formed independent of the prayer. But how can I know?

There are many examples of things that people accept based on subjective experience that can be shown false based on objective evidence derived through the scientific method. For instance, certain Christians were convinced that a weeping Mary painting was a miracle (subjective). An analysis of the tears found them to be made of olive oil (objective); and later, a hidden camera caught the perpetrators pouring olive oil on the painting (objective). This evidence of tampering did not dissuade the faithful from following their hearts and believing that the tears were still a miracle. Given the strength of the evidence, the tears were clearly not a miracle.

Similarly, many people believe that prayers are answered (subjective). An experiment was designed by true believers to test their conviction, which included members of prestigious institutions such as Harvard, and found that there was no connection between prayer and outcome as they had believed. Though objective evidence falsified the hypothesis, many members of the religious research team said their faith in God was strengthened by the results. I find this conclusion totally illogical and an example of how religious thinking leads to false belief.

I define religious thinking more broadly as the process in which conclusions are accepted as true based solely on subjective evidence; which, by the way, is not limited to faith and religion. This is in no way meant to be disrespectful to those who are religions. Rather, the term is apropos on the basis that such thinking is common amongst the religious. Indeed, many religions demand that people accept dogma on faith. To many members of the clergy, the thought of asking for objective proof is near blasphemy.

There are many examples of religious thinking that are found to lead to false conclusions when compared against objectively-derived evidence, and I will not provide an exhaustive list. Those who are interested in this topic can read the Skeptical Inquirer, an excellent publication filled with many interesting articles. My point is that subjective experience is shown over and over again to be a faulty method for determining the truth. If this is so, how can one justify the use of subjective experience as a source of true information?

One may argue that religious thinking is harmless. Often, such thinking is deadly.

Consider the hysteria over vaccinations and a purported link to autism. Many parents are convinced that their children got autism as a result of a vaccination because the onset of symptoms started soon after the inoculation. This correlation does not prove causation. The observation can be explained by the simple fact that the typical age of a child with the onset of autism symptoms happens to coincide with the recommended age for inoculations. Thus, it is no wonder that many children show symptoms of autism shortly after a vaccination.

Studies by a British Scientist that reported a connection between vaccinations and autism was later found to be fraudulent, not to mention inconsistent with the body of scientific evidence. Even with objective evidence to the contrary, many parents are convinced that inoculations are dangerous and have decided not to inoculate their children.

Because of decreased vaccination rates, childhood diseases such as Pertussis (Whooping Cough) are on the rise. In 2010, 10 infants died during an outbreak in California, where about 10,000 cases were reported (see the CDC website). As fewer children become inoculated, the number of cases and deaths will skyrocket. Yet 48 out of the 50 states in the U.S. allow parents to choose not to inoculate their children based on religious or philosophical grounds. The government is allowing religious thinking to trump scientifically established truth.

To protect the public health, it is crucial that nearly 100% of the population be inoculated. When religion affects the welfare of others, it should not be used as an excuse for an exemption.

Emotions complicate matters. It is difficult to watch dejected parents with autistic children carrying banners and protesting against the "evil" drug companies that make vaccinations that "hurt our children" (subjective). The scientific argument is seen as a corporate coverup, and legislation as a sign of government corruption (subjective). Even so, reason must triumph. The scientific method is specifically designed to remove subjective bias, especially when emotions cloud good judgment.

As I wrote in a previous post, this may brand me as an arrogant scientist. However, there are certain things that science knows with great certainty. In such cases, we must enact intelligent policy that protects the public. In short, strong objective evidence must always trump the subjective.

That is not to say that all subjective experiences should be dismissed.

When choosing a spouse, believing in God, or marveling at the greatness of one's own children, we should all be free to indulge our fancies. However, religious thinking must be resoundingly rejected when imposed on others, especially when it contradicts well-established objective knowledge.

About Me

I have always enjoyed science, and more broadly, reason. By shedding superstition and emotionally-based sloppy thinking, humans have made great progress in understanding the universe, from the fabric of spacetime, to clusters of galaxies, and everything in between, including life. Through an understanding of human evolution, we can appreciate our special place in the universe and marvel at the brain's ability to think. In short, the scientific method allows us to know what was thought unknowable only a few decades ago.